


Happy Marneaster

by scriba_vindex



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: (Sort of) Established Relationship, Dogs, Easter with the Marners, Fluff, M/M, Meet the Family, exceedingly soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 22:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29625036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scriba_vindex/pseuds/scriba_vindex
Summary: “Fine.” Auston assented, snatching the orange shirt out of Mitch’s hands. “I accept the risk, and this-“ he muttered, gesturing at the fabric. “Is happening.”Auston then proceeded to attempt to pull the shirt over his head for emphasis, but it got supremely stuck over his shoulders, which were, admittedly, broader than Mitch’s. He struggled with it for a moment, before pausing with the shirt half-on and huffing out an exasperated muttering of”Fuck”.Mitch’s doubtful expression morphed into a grin. “Alright, then. Guess I’m bringing you home with me for Easter.” He conceded, eyeing Auston’s entanglement with the shirt and adding a hasty. “We’ll get you an XL.”“Happy Marneaster.” Auston muttered, his voice muffled by highlighter-orange fabric as Mitch began the arduous task of freeing the shirt from his shoulders.
Relationships: Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews
Comments: 3
Kudos: 64





	Happy Marneaster

“Marneaster 2021.” Auston read aloud, eyeing the highlighter orange T-shirt that Mitch was holding up with a blank expression.

“Exactly.” Mitch groaned. “In 2009 my mom decided to start calling it fucking _Marneaster_.”

“And she makes custom shirts for the occasion.” Auston observed placidly. 

Mitch scowled. “She makes everyone wear them every year. There’s 12 more shitty shirts exactly like this one buried in my bottom drawer.”

Auston appraised the shirt thoughtfully. “Do they all feature _Comic Sans_?”

“She tried _Impact_ one year.” 

Auston shrugged, smirking. “None of this bothers me, Marns.” 

Mitch raised his eyebrows. “Have I told you that literally every extended Marner relative that lives in Ontario will be there?” 

“Several times, yes.”

“There’s a lot of them. And some of them are actually really fucking annoying-“

“-If they’re anything like you, I’m sure I’ll spend the whole visit experiencing a happy medium somewhere between adoring their company and wishing for solitude.” Auston interjected, placing a hand steadfastly on Mitch’s shoulder.

Mitch snorted and eyed Matts’ hand dubiously. “I’m going to choose to ignore that dig, because I know for a fact you love having me around-“ he reeled, to which Auston snorted slightly, before Mitch continued earnestly, “but…you really do want to do this? You want to come to _Marneaster_?”

“For the first time since I was drafted, I can’t go home for Easter because we have home games literally the day before and the day after. Where else would I go?” Auston challenged. 

“Out for steaks and beers with Willy and Fred and the other single guys or something? I don’t fucking know.”

“But I’m not single.”

“No,” Mitch muttered, raising an eyebrow and smirking. “You sure as hell are not.”

“Your mom invited me. And I would rather spend Easter with my boyfriend and his family than in some dank restaurant downtown.” Auston mused earnestly, eyeing Mitch’s reaction. 

Marns squirmed a bit, chewing his lip and wringing the highlighter-orange _Marneaster_ shirt in his hands.

“You _know_ she doesn’t know about us, though, Aus.” He groaned eventually. “None of them do. They think you’re just my best friend. And I don’t want to do that to you- make you play friendzone in front of my whole family.”

Auston shrugged. “You wouldn’t have to make me. We do it all the time at the rink, Mitch- what’s one day in front of your family?” he quipped, before adding with a smirk, “We’re pretty fucking good at it- in that one game against the Sens a couple weeks back I almost kissed you while we cellied and then they posted a pic of us hugging after the third period and no one even figured it out-“

“-Tell that to the hundred DMs I got afterward that literally said shit like _Just Kiss_ -“ Mitch interrupted, rolling his eyes. “There is a strong possibility someone in the family will figure out that we’re more than friends. Which like, whatever, but…it’s a real possibility.”

“Fine.” Auston assented, snatching the orange shirt out of Mitch’s hands. “I accept the risk, and this-“ he muttered, gesturing at the fabric. “Is happening.”

Auston then proceeded to attempt to pull the shirt over his head for emphasis, but it got supremely stuck over his shoulders, which were, admittedly, broader than Mitch’s. He struggled with it for a moment, before pausing with the shirt half-on and huffing out an exasperated muttering of _”Fuck_ ”.

Mitch’s doubtful expression morphed into a grin. “Alright, then. Guess I’m bringing you home with me for Easter.” He conceded, eyeing Auston’s entanglement with the shirt and adding a hasty. “We’ll get you an XL.” 

“Happy Marneaster.” Auston muttered, his voice muffled by highlighter-orange fabric as Mitch began the arduous task of freeing the shirt from his shoulders.

* * *

A few weeks later, Mitch and Auston pulled into the driveway of Mitch’s childhood home in Thornhill at around lunchtime. Despite their best efforts, they reeked slightly of hockey equipment, as they had come directly from morning skate. Auston was sheltering a tray of cupcakes covered in Mini Eggs and trying to remain unbothered as he regarded the dozen or so cars that were in front of Mitch’s parents’ house.

“You sure you’re ready for this?” Mitch muttered, eyeing Auston warily as he put the car in park. “They’re about 95% Leafs fans, so you’re about to get fucking mobbed.”

“How bad can it possibly be?” Auston returned with a shrug as they exited the car. “Going out anywhere in the GTA and getting mobbed is a solid component of our lifestyle, at this point.” 

“This isn’t the fucking Toronto Zoo though, Aus- this is a moderately sized house stuffed to the brim with a motherlode of Marners.”

“I’ve handled being around you for nearly five years, haven’t I?” Auston proposed, casting a sidelong glance at Mitch as they march up the cobbled path to the front door.

“I know,” Mitch admitted, hitting the doorbell. “And if that isn’t the fattest fucking miracle-“

He was interrupted mid-sentence by the door flying open to reveal Mitch’s mom, Bonnie, along with about four different barking dogs.

Bonnie Marner immediately swept Mitch into a tight hug, exclaiming happily; meanwhile, the dogs swarmed Auston, who clutched his tray of cupcakes awkwardly. 

“Mitchell,” Bonnie crooned, “it’s fantastic to see you-“ she started, before pulling away to regard Mitch rather sternly and continuing, “ _but_ \- I do not want to hear any more cursing out of you today. Your grandmothers and your great aunt Agnes are here-“

“Fucking superhearing,” Mitch groaned, causing Bonnie to shoot him a dangerous look, before adding, “sorry. Good to see you too, mum.”

Mitch’s mom’s expression immediately grew more satisfied, and she quickly dialed her smile back up such that it strongly resembled the expression Mitch wore whenever he scored. After a moment, she turned it on Matts, who smiled awkwardly back. 

“Auston!” She exclaimed, “Thank you so much for coming along-“

“Thank you for having me, Mrs. Marner, I really appreciate it-” He stammered, passing over the cupcakes and wilfully ignoring the fact that the smallest dog- a white terrier- seemed to be chewing on the bottom of his black Gucci pants. 

Bonnie waved away his response. “No trouble at all- any friend of Mitch’s who sets him up for so many lovely goals is always welcome in this house.” She mused, winking. 

Auston blushed a little as she ushered them inside the house, simultaneously yelling at a couple of the dogs that had wandered out onto the front lawn to come back inside. As soon as they were over the threshold and Bonnie had headed down the hall towards the kitchen, Matts leaned in and whispered to Mitch, “Since when do your parents have more than one dog?” 

He cast a suspicious glance down at the white one, which had resumed its quest to destroy his pants. 

Mitch snorted. “They still only have Winston. Everyone in the family just fucking brings theirs along whenever we get together- sorry, I should have warned you-“

“It’s cool,” Auston returned with a smirk. “This is my least favourite pair of Gucci pants, anyways.”

Mitch smiled at him, and Auston stifled a fleeting urge to kiss him, as at that instant an ensemble of Marner relatives descended upon them. 

Admittedly, there was a lot of them. Like, more than would fit on a hockey roster. They ranged in age from two months (one of Mitch’s cousins had like, just given birth back in February) up to their mid-eighties (Mitch’s multiple grandparents and great aunt Agnes). Most of them had blond or dusty brown hair, and they all seemed to be capable of producing the same intense, unsettlingly happy smile as Mitch and his mom. 

And Mitch had not been kidding when he said they were all Leafs fans. Several of Mitch’s uncles immediately clapped Auston on the back rather aggressively and thanked him for blessing Leafs nation with his goal-scoring. As Auston’s coat was taken away to who knows where by a doting aunt, a trio of under-ten-year-olds appeared underfoot with memorabilia they (or perhaps their parents) wanted him to sign, which he did willingly as Mitch rolled his eyes exasperatedly on his left, muttering about _”no one ever leaving Matts the fuck alone”_.

One of the little kids must have heard him, because in an instant they were all pointing at him and laughing about him using “toilet words”. Mitch had to promise that he and Auston would join them for a game of mini sticks later to get them to shut up. 

Meanwhile, Auston was introduced to what must have been every Marner in Ontario; even great aunt Agnes hobbled up to him not five minutes after they’d arrived to ask in a croaky voice if he was _”That nice boy from the desert that Mitchell is always going on about….”_

Mitch materialized at Auston’s side in an instant and smiled, clasping his hands primly and starting to explain that they were _”friends from work”_ , which caused Auston to snort in amusement and caused Agnes to pinch Marns’ cheek rather aggressively. “I know that by work you mean you play hockey, Mitchell, I’m not senile just yet,” She chided as Mitch smiled hollowly and took the pinch with a series of small strangled sounds. “But how is it that hockey players come from the desert now?” she inquired, fixing Matts with a genuinely confused gaze. 

“They don’t, really. Auston’s pretty much the only one.” Mitch snorted, grimacing as Agnes finally let go of his cheek. 

“How very unusual.” Agnes mused cheerfully, regarding Auston like she would an interesting bug who’d landed on her knee. “Do you skate as well as Mitchell, Preston?”

Auston was saved from figuring out how to respond to being called Preston by the arrival of Mitch’s dad Paul, who shook his hand warmly. Auston was grateful to see a familiar face, and did not protest as he made excuses to Great Aunt Agnes and ushered Auston and Mitch through to the kitchen, where Bonnie and a handful of aunts and uncles were in the throes of pulling together an enormous meal.

“Here, boys, you must be starved after skating this morning and coming straight here-“ Paul proposed, sliding a plate of sandwiches across the counter. “We already ate, but Bonnie saved you some.”

“Thank you, Mr. Marner.” Auston returned gratefully, grabbing a sandwich. Peripherally, he saw Mitch snatch three. 

“Please- call me Paul.” Mitch’s dad suggested with a smile. “I’ve been telling the guys at work I’m on a first-name basis with Auston Matthews for five years now. Might as well lend some truth to it…” he finished with a laugh. “And anyways, you two are so close-“

“-Oh, yeah,” Auston interjected, “the best of friends-“ he inserted, deflecting the conversation absentmindedly and smirking as he turned to regard Mitch, who grinned back at him with a mouth full of sandwich. 

Mitch’s dad sighed, exasperated but fond, as he glanced at Mitch. “Anyways, I have to go help Bonnie. Don’t let him choke on you-“ Paul added, gesturing at Mitch- which nearly caused Auston to asphyxiate on his own sandwich- before he wandered off to the other side of the kitchen.

Mitch, having swallowed his mouthful, was snickering.

“My dad is disturbingly unaware of innuendos.”

Auston exhaled, his mouth creeping into a smile. “I see.”

“Why do you look like you’re scheming?”

“I’m not.”

“Are so.”

“I’m just thinking.”

“About?” Mitch prompted, leaning in closer. 

Auston smirked. “I hate that I’m having this thought in your kitchen. Surrounded by your extended family. It’s not good friendzone material.”

“Now you have to tell me.” Mitch urged, smiling.

Auston conceded, shooting Marns a devious grin as he whispered. “Just thinking about you kneeling in front of me and choking on my-“

 _”Mitch!”_ A cheerful, feminine voice suddenly interjected from over Auston’s shoulder. At his side, Mitch was reddening profusely, but he still turned to regard who was speaking. 

“Hey! How’s it going, Rey?” He offered convincingly cheerfully, embracing the speaker for a quick hug. 

“Aus, this is my cousin Reyna.” He introduced, leaving his arm around his cousin’s shoulders. “She’s kind my coolest relative- she’s in med school at UofT and climbs mountains abroad in her spare time.”

“That’s wicked.” Auston admitted candidly, ignoring how hot and bothered he was by the image of Mitch that had just been clouding his brain. “I’m Auston- nice to meet you.”

Reyna shot him a beaming smile, her face framed with corkscrew curls. “So, how do you know Mitch?”

Auston stared at her blankly. “Uh…”

Reyna immediately snickered. “I’m just kidding. Everyone in Toronto knows who you are- even the nerdier types like me.” She offered brightly. 

“Apparently Great Aunt Agnes doesn’t.” Auston observed, jesting. 

Reyna groaned. “Oof- so you’ve met her, eh? How fortunate- how are your cheeks?”

Auston snickered. “I escaped unscathed- Mitch wasn’t so lucky.”

Marns grimaced and put a hand to his cheek as if remembering the pain. Reyna laughed and regarded him sympathetically before turning to gaze at Auston. “What’s it like being linemate to this little shit?” She questioned, prodding Mitch’s shoulder fondly. 

Mitch appeared mock-aghast, but he regarded Auston curiously.

Matts paused, meeting Mitch’s eyes and continuing, “He’s stronger and sassier than he looks.”

Mitch appeared supremely pleased with himself, and Reyna’s expression grew suddenly adoring. “Aww,” she mused, “so you haven’t been totally turned off him these last few years?” she teased, “Impressive- in this family he’s always been known as the _smol and angy one_ -“

“Hey-“ Mitch snorted, intermittently swatting Reyna in the shoulder. “I. Am. Not. Smol.” He muttered, laucghing and launching himself at his cousin in a sort of mock-wrestling. 

Auston watched, bemused, as the two scuffled on the edge of the living room carpet. After a few seconds, an unfamiliar woman- presumably another aunt- wandered up and separated them, half-heartedly muttering “Knock it off, you two-“ and adding, “Mitch, the little ones are looking for you. Apparently, you promised them a game of Sticks?”

Mitch emerged upright, his hair significantly more ruffled than it had been a moment before. “Oops, sorry, Rey!” He chided breathlessly, “Gotta go re-cement my status as the favourite among the younger cousins!”

“Pfft.” Rey muttered, waving a hand absentmindedly. “I brought them thirty bucks worth of candy and already played six rounds of ping-pong with them before you got here- good luck making up that ground.”

“Well _I_ ," Mitch crooned, linking an arm through Auston’s as he regarded Rey, “am bringing them Auston Matthews, which is fucking unbeatable-“

From somewhere over in the kitchen, Bonnie emitted an offended sound, and Auston suspected that she was now glaring at Mitch. 

Rey laughed. “Admittedly, that’s a tough one to top. Have fun getting rug-burn on your knees!” she called over her shoulder as she headed into the living room. 

Mitch snorted and began to drag Auston away from the counter. “Rey’s pretty fun.” He admitted, smiling at Auston as the two of them filed away from Bonnie’s death glare and towards the door to the basement. 

Auston nodded. “I like her. She’s cool.”

“Also, sorry I voluntold you that we’re playing mini sticks.” Mitch added apologetically as they descended the stairs. 

“No problem- we’re going to kick ass at it.”

Mitch glanced at him fondly. “You know, you’re really good at this hanging with the family stuff. It’s like you’ve done it before.”

Auston shrugged. “I haven’t really…my family gatherings have always been tiny. Like…two grandparents and maybe on aunt or uncle if we were lucky”

Mitch’s expression grew rather surprised. “Let me know if being assaulted by like, three dozen Marners at once gets overwhelming for you, okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” Auston assured him as they reached the basement. 

Auston immediately regretted his choice of words, because he’d been on level ground for all of three seconds before a rubber ball hit him squarely in the gut. He exhaled sharply, surprised at how much the impact stung. 

Mitch glanced at him in concern, so he shot him a hurried thumbs up, though internally he was groaning. 

Mitch’s attention darted swiftly over to the crowd of small Marners that was huddled between the couches of the basement rec room. 

“What did I tell you all about raising the ball?” Mitch shouted, exasperated but smiling. “Keep it on the ground if you want us to play with you. And no breaking Auston.” He finished, gesturing at Matts offhandedly. 

“Does that mean we can break _you_ , Mitch?” A darker-haired boy exclaimed excitedly, twirling a plastic mini stick in his hands. 

“How about no breaking anyone?” Auston suggested tentatively, eyeing the army of cousins. 

A blue-eyed girl with pigtails gazed up at Auston with a wide smile. “Are you Mitchy’s boyfriend?”

Auston shot Mitch a sideways glance, and Marns ran his fingers through his hair with a nervous smile plastered on his face. “Uh…he’s my friend and linemate, Sabrina…”

“Does linemate mean boyfriend?”

Auston snorted. “Not exactly.”

“But then why do you have matching bracelets?” Sabrina urged, crossing her arms. “Are they _friendship _bracelets?”__

__“Absolutely.” Mitch answered hurriedly, before clapping his hands together and declaring, “now, are we going to play together or what?”_ _

__The squad of children immediately started shouting about who was on whose team and where the boundaries of the playing field were, and Mitch and Auston were quickly swept into one of the more aggressive games of mini sticks either of them had ever participated in. And that included a fair few intense games over at the Marleau household._ _

__Auston took quite a few whacks on the hands, wrists, and shins, but he enjoyed himself. Mitch was extremely good with his younger cousins, and they absolutely idolized him in return._ _

__When he and Mitch ducked out an hour or so later under pretense of a water break, he told Mitch as much. Marns smiled and dismissed the praise, though Auston thought he might have blushed a bit._ _

__They mingled with the older relatives upstairs for a while as the aroma of the upcoming dinner intensified. Auston found his stomach rumbling appreciatively at the smells, so he was glad when one of Mitch’s relatives roped them into a huge family game of charades._ _

__Auston and Mitch were, objectively, fantastic at charades. It had somewhat jokingly become an occasional feature with the team on Leafs road trips, and they had something like a 7-game streak of victories dating back to the 2017-2018 season. The guys always thought they were cheating, but they were just honest-to-goodness really fucking good at understanding each other._ _

__This fact did not escape the roomful of Marner relatives. In the first round, they blasted through clues in a stupidly speedy fashion._ _

__“Turtle.” Auston muttered, his eyes fixated on Mitch’s turtle imitation as the rest of the room watched patiently._ _

__Then, just a few seconds later:_ _

__“Cupcake.”_ _

__Then:_ _

__“Skiing.”_ _

__“Mushroom.”_ _

__“Tow truck.”_ _

__“Elvis.”_ _

__“That one scene from Ghost with the pottery.”_ _

__By that last one, the room was cheering and laughing uproariously at how effectively Auston was guessing. They were equally effective when the tables turned in the second round and Mitch had to guess._ _

__They won handily, and were swarmed by impressed relatives for several minutes afterwards._ _

__“We’ve been playing this game at family functions for _years_ ,” Mitch’s aunt Helen mused, staring at Auston past her glass of red wine, “and no one has _ever_ done as well as you two.” She finished, impressed. _ _

__Mitch smiled at Auston’s side, leaning against his right shoulder familiarly._ _

__A young blond woman, whom Auston suspected was either Mitch’s second cousin Violet or his aunt Mel- he couldn’t be sure, piped in, “You two make the cutest couple!”_ _

__To which both Mitch and Auston started stuttering things like, “nope, just linemates-“, “he’s just my best friend”, “oh, he’s taken” and “I actually don’t know him-“ simultaneously._ _

__Violet/Mel looked skeptical and smirked as she raised an eyebrow at them. “If you aren’t dating, you should think about trying it. The chemistry…” she muttered, wandering off towards the wine station on the far wall._ _

__Mitch watched her go, then turned to Auston with a smirk. “Well,” he began quietly, “we fucked that up a bit.”_ _

__“Just a bit.” Auston snickered in return._ _

__“Should have known charades would be our downfall.”_ _

__“It couldn’t be helped…” Auston mused fake mournfully. “We’re just too fucking good at it.”_ _

__Somewhere off to the left, someone hollered Mitch’s name. The crowd in the living room seemed to be assembling for a photo._ _

__Before he could really register what was going on, Auston found he and Mitch being herded against the living room wall, where a collection of young adult relatives seemed to be arranging themselves in a line. They were nearly posed- people had started pulling out their phones to snap pictures- when Auston realized that it was all couples. Like, dating or married._ _

__“Mitch-“ He hissed, stifling laughter. “Look at everyone else who’s in this fucking photo.”_ _

__“What, Aus?” Mitch countered vaguely, glancing from side to side. After a few seconds, it appeared to dawn on him as he stared at the adjacent cousin and their partner, who were arranged one in front of the other, all couple-y. Auston watched mirthfully as Mitch’s expression morphed into one of wild panic. “Aww, _hell_ no-“ he muttered, grabbing Auston’s arm as if to drag him away. _ _

__Unfortunately, at that moment, Bonnie spotted him, phone in hand, and called, “Mitchy, smile!”_ _

__Auston could only imagine the photo that resulted; half a dozen perfectly arranged couples and then he and Mitch awkwardly grabbing onto each other and looking like cornered cats._ _

__“Do we concede now?” Auston chuckled, whispering breathlessly into Mitch’s ear. “I think your family might be on to us.”_ _

__“Of course not.” Mitch hissed steadfastly. “We can just keep denying it; it’s like, virtually dinner time anyways. We’ve almost made it.”_ _

__Sure enough, just as the photo-taking crowd dissolved Bonnie and Paul began trying to herd everyone towards several dinner tables that had been set up throughout the dining room and the sun room in the back._ _

__Mitch headed off to lobby for some good seats for he and Auston, which left Matts alone by the piano in the living room. At least, until he was approached by Chris, Mitch’s older brother._ _

__“Hey, Auston!” Chris exclaimed, engaging him in a quick bro-type hug and offering him a fresh drink._ _

__Auston declined politely, feeling he would need his wits about him if he hoped to not slip up about he and Mitch for the final few hours._ _

__Chris suddenly regarded him very intently, fixing him with a blue gaze that was disturbingly similar to Mitch’s. “Matthews, I want you to level with me-“_ _

__Auston attempted to regard him with a look that screamed- _I’m chill_ \- and not - _help_ -. _ _

__“Are you dating my brother?”_ _

__Auston swallowed and began stammering once more. “I, uh- we don’t-“ he started, struggling to collect his thoughts, before settling on, “we’re like roommates. But we don’t live together. Roommates with no room.” He offered awkwardly, internally chastising himself for his utter lack of _chill_. _ _

__Chris shrugged. “Dude, it’s like, totally fine if you are. I just really need to know-“ he began, leaning in closer and dropping his voice to just above a whisper. “There’s this bet, you see-“_ _

__Auston stared at him, dumbfounded._ _

__“-About if you guys are more than friends. Pretty much the whole family fucking ships it, but Grandma Jane has offered a crazy payout if it’s true, because she figures Mitch would never have been able to keep it a secret-“_ _

__Auston was only half-listening, wondering if every single person he’d talked to that day had been in on the bet. He was even fucking wondering about Sabrina…_ _

__But he and Chris were interrupted by Bonnie formally calling everyone to gather for Easter dinner. Mercifully, Mitch reappeared with a smile and a muttered _”There you are, Aus, I got us the_ best table_”_ and dragged him towards the sun room. Auston shot an apologetic but slightly shit-disturbing look over his shoulder at Chris, who watched them go in exasperation. 

“Mitch-“ Auston started under his breath, “I’ve gotta tell you-“

But they had arrived at their table- which featured Rey and a couple other young adult cousins and not, thankfully Mitch’s Great Aunt Agnes- and Auston found himself abruptly cut off as he and Mitch took their seats in front of a mountain of food. 

Mitch’s family had outdone themselves with turkey, stuffing, various vegetables, dinner rolls, and drinks for a small army. Auston almost forgot about the whole bet thing as he and Mitch sat through several rounds of toasts (including multiple that called out Auston by name, which he both loved and hated) and enjoyed an amount of food that the team nutritionists would probably have skinned them for consuming. Dogs wandered around under the tables and he and Mitch had a stupidly good time trying to goad them into eating various vegetables, such as asparagus and parsnips- though _not_ as Mitch assured Reyna when she caught them in the act, any onions or garlic or chocolate or any toxic shit like that. 

“Only the good stuff.” Mitch assured Rey as he fed someone’s Dachshund a carrot.

Desert was a fantastic collection of pies in all different flavours. Mitch combined a chocolate one with a pineapple one, which Auston initially chirped as disgusting, until he was goaded into trying it and was forced to admit it was delicious. 

When all was said and done, they were both supremely full. And it took a ridiculously long time for Auston to get another chance to try and pull Mitch aside. He finally did so once the dishes had been cleared and the relatives had started migrating back to the living room, where someone had started up a queue of eighties hits. 

Mitch nodded at Auston’s suggestion about trying to slip away and grabbed his wrist, leading him back into the empty front hall and glancing around dubiously for wayward relatives before opening the front door. He and Auston stepped outside onto the front porch, where the crisp spring air contrasted sharply with the stuffy party air from inside. 

“What did you want to tell me?” Mitch started, fixing his bright blue eyes on Auston as they stood face-to-face. 

“There’s this bet-“ Auston began hastily, desperate to explain before they were interrupted once again. “-Your brother Chris told me about it. Your entire family ships us, or some shit-“

To Auston’s great surprise, Mitch didn’t appear shocked. In fact, he barely shrugged. 

“Honestly not that surprised. Everyone’s been asking me questions about you all day. We’re also pretty awesome together…“

Auston appraised him, raising an eyebrow. “It doesn’t…bother you? That they basically know?”

Mitch smiled, tilting his head a little to the side. “Not if it doesn’t bother you?”

Auston returned his smile, tentatively taking one of Mitch’s hands in his own. He fixed his eyes on Mitch’s once more. “Not in the slightest.”

Mitch brightened noticeably. “So…you aren’t ready to run away from all us Marners yet?” 

“Nah, I’ve decided I like them.” Auston smirked with a shrug. “Although I might steer clear of your Great Aunt when possible if cheek pinching is on the table.” 

“I won’t blame you.” Mitch laughed, drawing closer to Auston. “I’ve got to ask though, Great Aunt Aggie aside- who’s your favourite?”

Matts smiled and drew a hand to Mitch’s cheek. “Who do you fucking think?” he chided, drawing him close and bringing their lips together for a kiss. 

He could feel Mitch smiling against his lips, and one of Marns’ hands on his back pulled them even closer together while the other tangled in Auston’s hair. 

They might have stayed like that all night, except for the fact that muffled cheering and catcalls had erupted from behind the glass in the front door. 

A sideways glance that Auston cast in the direction of the noise revealed that a plethora of Marner relatives- Bonnie, Reyna, Chris, and Violet/Mel among them- had their faces pressed up against the glass, and that they all looked absolutely delighted. 

“Fuck _off_ ,” Mitch groaned from within Auston’s arms, though his tone was fond. 

Through the glass, Rey was beaming at them and shooting them a double thumbs-up. Bonnie appeared to have her camera out again. Somewhere behind the throng, the dogs had started barking. 

“Happy Marneaster?” Auston muttered to Mitch, hugging him more tightly with a laugh. 

“Happy Marneaster.” Mitch agreed with a sigh and a contented smile.

**Author's Note:**

> *Sigh*...I miss pre-COVID family gatherings. So I wrote something soft for these two. Hope you liked it! I don't usually write one-shots but here we are :p 
> 
> Go Leafs Go!


End file.
